Warriors Sweep Rival Concordia; Win Pool D

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – It was a matchup of familiar faces on Friday afternoon as Midland University took on conference rival, Concordia University. The two teams out of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) meet in the final, winner-take-all match of Pool D at the NAIA National Championship. After falling in both regular-season matches, the Warriors picked up a straight-set sweep over the Bulldogs (25-23, 25-16, 25-21) to advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday.

SET ONE: Midland 25, Concordia 23

The Warriors were focused at the start of the match as they went on a 5-1 run, which led to a quick timeout by the Bulldogs. Jacki Apel and Lauryn Samuelson set the tone offensively and defensively with three kills and a block at the onset.

After the huddle, Concordia battled back to tie the set 10-10. That started a string of 12 ties the rest of the opener. Tied at 23-23, the Bulldogs committed a service error and then Apel and Samuelson closed out the win with a combo block, 25-23.

SET TWO: Midland 25, Concordia 16

In the second set, the teams traded points up to a 4-4 tie. That trend continued up to a tie of 12-12, just before Midland went on an 11-3 run. During the stretch, the Warriors got three blocks from their front line of Abbey Ringler, Apel, Jessie Moss, Samuelson, and Lauren Williams. Adding to it was solid defense that dug several Bulldog attacks that allowed the Warriors to transition into their own attack. Delanie Vallinch led the charge in the back row while also registering an ace serve.

Sitting two point from going up two sets, Cortlyn Schaefer connected on consecutive kills. The first from the set of Brielle Power and the second from Brena Mackling, both of whom put their teammates in positions to success all afternoon. Midland too the second set, 25-16.

SET THREE: Midland 25, Concordia 21

Concordia wasn't about to go down without a fight. In the third set, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 9-5 advantage that led to a timeout from the Warriors' bench. They brought a renewed energy to their side as Midland had six miscues in the early going.

Following the quick talk with the coaching staff, the Warriors came out a much more focused group as they went on a 5-1 run to tie the set up. After trading the next 12 points, up tot a 16-16 tie, Midland went on a 3-0 run to take control. Williams and Ringler started the rally with a block of the Bulldogs' attack and then took advantage of back-to-back attack errors.

Leading 19-16, Midland closed out the match with a 6-5 run. Apel, who had a big day for Midland, picked up two kills down the stretch ahead of a kill by Samuelson that sent the Warriors into a dogpile on the court.

For the match, Jacki Apel and Lauryn Samuelson spearheaded the Midland attack with 10 and 7 kills, respectively. Cortlyn Schaefer and Jessie were next in line with six kills each while Abbey Ringler finished with four.

Defensively, Ringler led the way with six block assists. Samuelson and Apel both have five stuffs at the net as the Warriors finished with 12 total blocks. In the back row, Delanie Vallinch and Kailyn Scott both had double-digit digs. Vallinch finished with 19 while Scott had 11. Brielle Power and Brena Mackling both had six digs from their setter positions.

The setter duo also coordinated the offense to a .224 hitting percentage. Power finished with 15 assists while Mackling had 17.

"This was a great win for our players and for the program," commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. "The growth this team has showed from August to now is a real credit to the girls hanging in there and trusting each other. They were really focused from the start and I had a sense they were going to play well. Concordia is a great team and had a terrific season which makes this win even more special."

With the win, Midland (18-11) advances to the NAIA Quarterfinals. It will be the Warriors' seventh trip to the final eight in program history. They will take on Viterbo (33-4) who won its pool with a sweep of Southern Oregon. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m. inside the Tyson Events Center on Saturday, December 2. Earlier this season, the Warriors and the V-Hawks met in Fremont, Nebraska. Viterbo won 3-1 at the Midland Showdown.